How can companies succeed in a digital economy?
The digital age is moving at such a pace that it is fundamentally transforming the way that organisations operate. With digital here to stay, companies which do not embrace the opportunity, risk joining the growing list of old-economy organisations that have fallen by the wayside. Yet there is no single way to prepare for success […]
Why understanding leadership chasms will restore the reputation and value of managers
It’s tough at the top, and harder to get there. Before you plant a flag and celebrate your successful climb to HR Director, how would you feel if your reputation and value to the organisation had both plummeted into a black hole on the way up? I call this a ‘leadership chasm’, and ask HR […]
How can leaders become more inclusive?
Most leaders today recognise the benefits of sharing responsibility. The days of top-down hierarchies are almost behind us. It’s difficult for an elite group of people at the top to cope with the complex challenges facing organisations today without involving others. No matter what market you operate in, there is still a lot of volatility […]
Help your leadership team decide what they want to be famous for
All organisations need to work on strategy, operations and relationships; that’s not in question, but to help their organisations stand out and really compete leaders should decide which of these areas they’re going to major in and answer the question ‘what do we want to be famous for?’. Is it strategic focus; reading the market, […]
10 most read articles from 2014
Happy new year all! If you're trying to pack in a bit more HR insight before we roll into 2015, take a look at the below – our top 10 most-read pieces from 2014. Enjoy. 1. The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence New evidence, according to Professor Adam Grant from Wharton School of Business, suggests […]
Which famous leader is your boss most like?
Bosses and managers come in all kinds of guises, which affects our experiences with them and the nature of our work life. Some are fair, some are tyrants and some are push-overs, so we learn to handle them in different ways. This has been the case throughout history, and you can guarantee that in every […]
Are we witnessing the re-emergence of the HR Business Partner?
The HR Business Partner badge is nothing new; it has been around for well over a decade. It was David Ulrich, who in his 1997 book “Human Resource Champions,” first identified this model of functional support. However, what is interesting is how many organisations are now giving much more attention to the design and impact […]
Putting leadership under the magnifying glass
Why leadership development needs to be company-wide, focussed on self-awareness and enhanced interpersonal skills. Leadership response to recession We conducted two studies with managers of UK headquartered organisations in 2011 and 2013, totalling around 400 respondents, looking at the way UK leaders in the private sector are responding and contributing to the economic recovery. One […]
What is host leadership?
A host is someone who receives or entertains guests. This is a position with which we are all familiar, at some level. Think about your experience of hosting people in your home or at a celebration. Hosts sometimes have to act heroically – stepping forward, planning, inviting, introducing, providing. They also act in service: stepping […]
Interview: Jonathan Ferrar, VP, IBM Smarter Workforce
1. Can you explore how organisations and employees will need to work together to maximise the value to be gained from big data analytics? The availability of data is critical to the success of HR analytics, and some of the data HR wants for analytics might be considered personal by employees. It is therefore critical […]
Are HR business partners a dying breed?
Learning and development programmes continue to grow in importance as businesses gear up to take advantage of the economic upturn. But one area appears to be lagging behind. Is there now a shortage of high-quality HR Business Partners? Almost every client I’ve been involved with in the last 12 months has a similar problem – […]
Understanding the differences in types of temporary labour
With an estimated £24bn per year being spent by businesses on temporary workers, it is clear that these contingent – or ‘as needed’ – workers are a key component of a complex UK workforce. Many people still, however, do not understand the full spectrum of temporary labour that exists, nor its significance to the UK […]
Engaging through powerful, authentic conversations
Low levels of employee engagement are still burdening many organisations if the findings of a recent survey by The Oxford Group reflect what’s happening more broadly. In a survey of 1000 ABC1s (upper middle class, middle class, lower middle class), only a third of UK employees said their relationship with their boss was characterised by […]
The shadow side of leadership – hubris, derailment and overdrive
Dark side characteristics are found in almost everybody’s make up. Anyone working with executives will be aware of how a tough focus can lead to unhelpful behavioural features that strains relationships. There are, of course, steps that leaders can take to minimise the risks resulting from the dark side of leadership. Ashridge’s latest research, The Leadership […]
Interview: Laura Temple, Head of Leadership Engagement, SABMiller
Laura is a judge at the inaugural Employee Engagement Awards which will recognise the very best in engagement programmes publicly. Who is Laura Temple? Laura Temple heads up leadership engagement at the world’s second largest brewer SABMiller, famous for beers such as Peroni, Grolsh and Pilsner Urquell. Laura is a strategic communication and engagement specialist and […]
The untapped end of the talent pipeline
A majority of organisations in the UK are now concerned about their ability to fill critical leadership roles, with only 14% confident about their available talent pipelines. It is now time for employers to explore new talent pools and to make the most of what the country has to offer. Hidden talent pool What is […]
The six stages of the leadership journey
Steering an organisation on its unique journey towards its chosen destination is one of the biggest personal challenges facing all leaders. Why? Because internal and external issues will constantly change the landscape in which the organisation operates. Navigating the landscape is widely recognised as the new core requirement of the 21st century leader. The benefits […]
“Four facets of leadership I’ve learned from heroes,” by military leader Matthew T. Fritz
“Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.”General George Patton 20-years of service to the United States Air Force have been a blessing for my family and me. Every day I have the privilege of serving with heroes, sometimes in the most challenging of situations. The dynamic environments provided by a career in […]
Five ways HR can develop innovation cultures in large companies
Ask any CEO and they’ll tell you that innovation is vital to a company’s long-term success. In fact, a recent IBM study (IBM, 2010) of over 1,500 global CEOs found that ‘creativity’ was the number one most important capability for achieving their ambitions. Yet many large companies will secretly admit they don’t have the capabilities […]
Five myths about personality profiling
1. Can personality change be based on mood? Personality profiling tools measure the core or DNA of personality. The underlying traits don’t really shift. Research shows that the re-test for reliability statistics of profiling are high. Changes can occur because of a life event which may have caused, for instance, an emotional trauma, and people […]
